11 Gift Ideas for Kids Who Want to Code

Buying gifts for a budding software engineer? These are some of the best coding toys and games to get your kids interested in STEM and spark their inner geek.

Chloe Albanesius

Nov. 18, 2019, 3 a.m.

Kids are constantly glued to their devices: texting friends, playing games, watching (or creating) videos, and sharing selfies. But most children—whether or not they know it yet—are thrilled to have a more hands-on, under-the-hood experience with digital technology.

Parents who want to encourage and inspire their kids to stretch their science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) muscles probably already know this, but there's an avalanche of toys and kits claiming to provide just that. Here's a roundup of products that give real, creative, DIY experience of electronics, robotics, and coding to build interest and confidence in the most neophyte techies.

Piper Computer Kit 2

Piper's new Computer Kit 2 includes all the components you need to build your own computer: a Raspberry Pi 3 Model B, mouse, battery, blueprint, and set of screws, plus nuts, wood boards for the chassis, and a screwdriver to put the case together. The kit also comes with wires, buttons, switches, LEDs, and breadboards to use with post-build coding projects.

Parents and teachers should be on standby throughout the build process, especially for kids at the low end of Piper's recommended 8-and-up age range. Once it's built, you can play games in a special Minecraft mod that shows you how to build hardware projects you can use, in turn, to accomplish goals within the Minecraft universe. Even better, the Piper computer also serves as an actual computer; it goes online, has a word processor, and so on. The Piper Computer Kit remains a clever smart toy and, despite its steep price, is worth every screw-turning, breadboard-wiring, code-writing second.

Kano PC

The Kano PC kit is a great launchpad that can get kids ages 6 and older interested in computers and software coding. The kit contains the hardware components you need to create a working Windows 10 tablet—including an Intel Atom x5-Z8350 quad-core processor clocked at 1.44GHz, 4GB of DDR3 RAM, and 64GB of storage, as well as a MicroSD card slot and detachable keyboard.

You connect everything together by following storybook instructions. Projects include coding and making art, music, and games, and kids will learn about the inner workings of a PC and how to code through onboard apps.Your DIY tablet will also work with Windows apps such as Word and Excel, along with many others. And you can visit Kano World online to safely share projects with the Kano community. The kit is available for pre-order now; it will ship around the end of November. Ages 6 and up.

Pai Botzees AR Construction and Coding Kit

This kit includes 130 Duplo-esque pieces, three of which are special blocks: the command block, which interfaces with the free Botzees AR app; the face-like ultrasonic sensor block, which detects obstacles; and a digital servo block which "creates rational movement." You'll need to download the app and connect your phone to the command block via Bluetooth. Parents should be on setup duty; the pre-build process is a little much for the suggested 4-plus age range. From there, you can enter the app's Build, Code, Control, and Play sections. Instructions are clear and include guiding animations to illustrate where each piece fits. Ages 4 and up.

Elenco Snap Circuits Extreme SC-750 Electronics Exploration Kit

We're fans of snap-together technology kits, and Elenco makes excellent ones. Kids can learn all about electronics with this kit, which comes with more than 80 modules that snap together to create working circuits and devices. You can create over 750 projects with these components, says Elenco. One module is a CI-73 computer interface, which lets kids view waveforms and frequencies as an electronics engineer would. Projects range in complexity—you'll get simple ones for beginners and more complex ones for more experienced kids. Ages 8 and up.

Mand Labs Magic of LED Kit

This inexpensive new kit from Mand Labs, targeted especially toward younger engineers-to-be, contains all the components you need—including different-color LEDs, a buzzer, transistors, and capacitors—to make five fundamental electronics projects. You can download a step-by-step guide that teaches how to make an LED glow, create a flash using a capacitor, build an automatic nightlight, and more. Ages 4 and up.

Robo Wunderkind Starter Kit

Young coders will have everything they need to build their own little bots, as well as code and operate them, with the Robo Wunderkind Starter Kit. You get several types of motors and sensors, wheels, a programmable button, an RGB light, and a main block with a speaker, mic, and battery; everything snaps together easily. You use two apps: Robo Code, to set your robot's behaviors; and Robo Play, which lets you remote-control your bot. The former has tutorials and guides you through building projects—and eventually, you can create your own robots. Even better, Lego adapters are included, so you can augment your creations exponentially. Ages 6 to 12.

Microduino Itty Bitty Buggy

A builder kit that's compatible with Lego blocks as well as with other kits from the company, the Microduino Itty Bitty Buggy comes with a base buggy to build on, as well as more than 50 snap-together mobiles with varying functions. Kids can build four fun projects with the kit: a Sloth, Ladybug, Dodo bird, and Alien. They can then code behaviors for their creations using either simple drag-and-drop coding (based on Scratch 3), more sophisticated Python, or even higher-level text-based Arduino IDE (C++). For those who want more, the Microduino Creative Expansion Kit ($19.99) features components for three more projects—or just invent your own. Ages 8 and up.

Makeblock Neuron Explorer Kit

Sold only by Apple, the Makeblock Neuron Explorer Kit comes with 12 coding blocks and assorted additional accessories, including a temperature sensor, light sensor, and LED strip. In a maker-type move, it also includes cardboard templates from which you can build a piano, a ukulele, a car, and an LED sword. Needless to say, you'll need an Apple device—specifically, an iPad. The Swift Playgrounds app for iPad lets you start programming what you build in Swift, a coding language created by Apple—paving the way for future iOS app developers. Ages 6 and up.

LittleBits Code Kit

We're fans of LittleBits modular electronics kits; we've awarded them several Editors' Choice awards, including the second-edition Gizmos & Gadgets Kit. The LittleBits Code Kit is designed to be used in educational settings to introduce kids from third to eighth grades to programming principles, by creating games through coding. LittleBits encourages parents to urge their schools to buy the kit. But if you really want to get your kids involved in coding and are willing to take an active role in the process, you can purchase the kit yourself. It may be overkill for some, but it's a robust solution and an effective tool. Ages 8 and up.

Lego Boost Creative Toolbox

For kids who are a bit too young to handle Lego's venerable MindStorms robotics kits, look no further than its Boost Creative Toolbox. Designed to introduce children to coding and robotics, the Boost kit provides building blocks with sensors, motors, and app-based coding to help them build a variety of robotic toys that can respond to stimuli. It's a simple, fun, and relatively affordable approach that teaches the principles of programming, making it worthy of our Editors' Choice designation. Ages 7 to 12.

Ozobot Evo

The tiny, adorable Ozobot Evo fits easily in a kid's pocket, but this bot might just be bigger on the inside: The Evo packs in proximity and optical sensors, and a speaker, among other tech (we kind of love that its shell is transparent, so you can see the actual components). It can do some tricks right out of the box, including following your moving finger and playing songs. But once you connect it to a smartphone, the options widen considerably. You can use Blockly-based code to create routines with movement, sounds, and light; share and explore inventions; and earn stars redeemable for content and avatars. The Evo's portability and unique interactivity with paper and markers make it a great gift. Ages 9 and up.

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Piper Computer Kit

The terrific (albeit pricey) Piper Computer Kit supplies all the components you need to build a pretty cool-looking kid-size computer, including a Raspberry Pi unit, a laser-cut wood case, a (small) screen, a battery, and a (very small) mouse. That's just the beginning: Once you've put your computer together, you can play games in a special Minecraft mod that shows you how to build hardware projects you can use, in turn, to accomplish goals within the Minecraft universe. Even better, the Piper computer also serves as an actual computer; it goes online, has a word processor, and so on. Ages 7 to 13.

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About the Author

Chloe Albanesius has been with PCMag.com since April 2007, most recently as Executive Editor for News and Features. Prior to that, she worked for a year covering financial IT on Wall Street for Incisive Media. From 2002 to 2005, Chloe covered technology policy for The National Journal's Technology Daily in Washington, DC. She has held internships at NBC's Meet the Press, washingtonpost.com, the Tate Gallery press office in London, Roll Call, and Congressional Quarterly. She graduated with a bachelor's degree in journalism from American University in Washington, D.C. See Full Bio